In the\u00a0village\u00a0of\u00a0Rubilovo in the\u00a0Pskov\u00a0region, four Romani families have lived for twenty years.\u00a0\u00a0In the past, the adults from these families worked in the kolkhoz, but now their only income is from child and incapacity benefits.\u00a0Occasionally they manage to earn extra income from working on their neighbours’ plots, or from collecting scrap-iron.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0I came to the village with the aim of supporting one of these Roma families in court, since they are semi-literate and it was difficult for them to take on a role unfamiliar to a Rom – that of plaintiff.\u00a0\u00a0The case was that one of the residents of this village had beaten up a Romani girl, inflicting on her grievous bodily harm.\u00a0\u00a0Her family had taken the case to court.\u00a0\u00a0After the first sitting of the court, I decided to visit Rubilovo and talk with neighbours to find out their opinion of the Ivanov family.\u00a0\u00a0In spite of the attacker’s statement that the people of this Roma family were idlers and thieves, I heard nothing bad said about them in the village.\u00a0\u00a0On the contrary, the neighbours said that they gave help to everyone who asked them for it: they helped the elderly or sick to collect the harvest, plough the earth, build houses, work on their vegetable gardens, and so on.<\/p>\n
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The Ivanov family is large, with eight members.\u00a0\u00a0According to the neighbours, the family is friendly and hard-working.\u00a0\u00a0I am a Rom myself, but do not often hear good words said about my people.\u00a0\u00a0Yet, despite the positive reports about the family, not one of their fellow villagers supported them morally after the incident in question.\u00a0\u00a0The mother of the victim was in despair and decided no longer to attend the court.\u00a0\u00a0‘We are Roma, and semi-literate – how are we to compete with a man who has worked for his whole life in the kolkhoz?\u00a0\u00a0He even has some kind of medal,’ she said.\u00a0\u00a0Nevertheless, I tried to support her in every way possible and convinced her not to be afraid to stand up for her rights, and to make a complaint to the court without question.\u00a0\u00a0It turned out that I was right.\u00a0\u00a0The court judged the case in favour of the Romani family.\u00a0\u00a0The defendant offered a public apology and paid a fine for infliction of bodily harm.\u00a0\u00a0Perhaps this was the first time that the Roma had felt that they were people defended by the law, the first time that they understood that their rights can and need to be stood up for in a civilised way, through reference to the court.